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MOTUC Character Selection: Too Predictable/Not Exciting Enough?

Let me preface this by saying I love this line and it's something I've wanted since mid-2005 (I had a wishlist about this and it was called MOTUC and EVERYTHING!) and the fact that I'm even seeing happen in real time is mind-blowing and exciting.

However, as more and more pictures and figures are surfacing, I find myself going "... neat," when I should be going, "OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!1111onetwo"

But I'm not. I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way as I do. So I guess I'm going blog-style on this as I wonder out loud, why it is I'm not as excited as I should be about this line. It seems everyone has had their opinion, so what's one more, right?

It isn't that I don't want Beast-Man or Zodac. Heck yeah I do! But the line so far has been way too predictable. There are a lot of fans that are waiting at the edge of their seats to see who's coming next. Um, I can tell you.

It's probably Man-At-Arms.

And he's going to be so interesting because he'll have the mustache, which is amazing. But c'mon, we know he's coming. And Teela, and anyone else on the 8-back. Mattel stated they wanted the line to have legs and that the A-lister/big sellers should be spaced out. Well the 8-backs seem to be the heavy hitters and they're practically coming one after the other.

DCUC just released shots of wave 8. Giganta is a C&C, Hawkgirl is the lead character in the line, with a whole but of obscure guys, for a MAJOR RETAIL CHAIN. So many DC fans went cool, while many others went, "Who's Commander Steel? Who's Vigilante. That's not the cowboy. He looks like Snake Eyes." It's sort of like taking a MOTUC assortment and making them consist of Ninjor, Frosta, Queen Marlena, Optikk, Rattlor, and Mantenna, and they all include pieces to make Panthor. That lineup is just so awesome because Scott and the Four Horsemen believe in the line so much, and the Four Horsemen's love of MOTU and their reputation for quality stuff back them up and the fans just devour it. We got 2 women, and a slew of c-list guys. I want that for He-Man's crew also.

I understand we(Mattel and the fans) need the first year to perform well. I just feel like Mattel's setting up the same pattern they always have. When the line was introduced at NYCC, we were shown images of Queen Marlena, Princess Adora, Count Marzo, King Grayskull, and He-Ro. The line was presented to us as a sort of "He-Man Unlimited." There's almost nothing holding them back from really stretching the boundaries.

But what have we seen? He-Man, Beast-Man, Skeletor, Mer-Man, Stratos, Zodac, and Faker. We already have had discussions on Man-At-Arms and Teela because fans are guaranteed that we're pretty much getting them. I love these guys, every one of them. But back-to-back? I thought they wanted the line to have legs.

I feel Mattel got some awesome enthusiasm with the powerpoint image. We got King Grayskull as an exclusive, but I don't want every character in the slide as an exclusive. I feel Mattel needs to change the order up a bit. Let's use the Sorceress as an example

Everyone is talking Teela. Everyone expects her to be first. And she will be no doubt. But that's where you can create excitement. You don't put her off indefinitely, but what if the Sorceress came first? Mattel seems to forget that they did have some heavy hitters at the end of the original MOTU 80's line. I feel Mattel is saying, "Sorceress is super popular so we're going to hold off on her." Do something different! Switch her spot with Teela's. Put her out now and save Teela for later. People will be sure to stay tuned to the line. It's not like people are going to say no to the Sorceress (IT'S THE SORCERESS!), who's another female headlining character. But in previous attempts she's ALWAYS been pushed to the end, if not done at all. We're barely got her in the staction line. Seeing He-Man and Beast Man at Comic-Con were awesome, but having a Sorceress sculpt next to them, would've made people do say this: "Sorceress is AWESOME! The Four Horsemen did an amazing job!" and they go, "Hey, why isn't Teela first? Where is she?"

MOTUC choices is sort like acting. There's no real bad choice. All of the choices are good ones. But Mattel needs to ask the question, "Which choice is the most interesting one?" Teela and the Sorceress are both awesome, but Teela has always come first. I personally want Teela first, and NOW, but making Sorceress would show Mattel is committed to something that is creatively different from everything we've seen before. Right now, it's more of what we've always seen and expected. And because of that it's too predictable. Just as King Grayskull was a Comic-Con exclusive and he was in the powerpoint presentation, I wouldn't be shocked of another character in the same shot, like Count Marzo or Adora, was the next exclusive.

So, Teela's female number 2. Cool. WRONG! Next is Frosta. What the four-letter-words? Let me explain why I would pick her next.

In the 200x line POP fans were constantly begging for She-Ra to be made and Mattel told them they had to support MOTU, which isn't hard because the toys and cartoon were awesome anyways. They plead and petition and they got a SDCC exclusive out of it, which was sadly a repaint with soft goods that divided the fanbase. When the line ended the stactions started and fans yet again begged for some POP love. Lots of fans wanted to see the Four Horsemen work their magic and they were sure anything the Four Horsemen touched would be embraced by the MOTU and POP fans alike. Sadly, it never happened. Now in 2008, we get a slide show with Adora’s mug in there and a pitch that POP is officially being integrated into MOTU and the Classics line is all encompassing. But we haven’t seen a single POP female to show for it. If there is one character that I think could easily illustrate POP in an MOTU world in 2008 AND sell through, it’s Frosta. This is why. She doesn’t have a girly gimmick, which would make her a hard sell, like Perfuma. She’s the most like a MOTU warrior. She’s essentially a female version of Iceman. She’s also been written as the most sexually aggressive of the female heroines, coming on to He-Man. Outside of She-Ra and Catra, she’s arguably the most popular female in POP. She’s hot. The Four Horsemen would only make her hotter.

Making Frosta would also accomplish multiple goals for the MOTUC line as a whole:
1. It’ll help fans to anticipate (read: agonize over) major characters like Teela that much more. She-Ra as well.
2. It’ll show fans who originally wouldn’t buy a doll in 1986 that they can support a Four Horsemen sculpted action figure of a hot warrior chick that’s new and yet is 100% MOTU-related, and is 100% ACTION FIGURE.
3. It’ll officially tackle a touchy subject in the design phase of the female figures. How do you do a super-articulated action figure of a character with billowy, long, thick hair, a cape, and a skirt and STILL be able to do them all in soft plastic/rubber so the neck can be posed, the cape is bendable, and the hip articulation isn’t hindered at all so she can stand, kick, or sit? Some fans don’t want rooted hair, but they don’t want the sculpted hair to be windswept either. They want it long and thick, but laying flat made out of soft rubber so they can be posed. Jakks did it with their WWE women, so at least the Four Horsemen have a model of sorts.
4. Mattel will finally be addressing POP fans directly that the money they’ve spent supporting MOTU since 2002 wasn’t in vain. Because if you talk to enough She-Ra fans MANY of them bought toys they didn’t want for YEARS out of a small hope they might get something from Etheria and they got nothing. Mattel launched this line and said, “OK now POP is officially involved.” So where are they? At least one in the first year would’ve been a show of faith.
5. MOTUC will officially be a new, unique line, different from any previous incarnation of MOTU, yet SIMULTANEOUSLY nostalgic. Right now, it’s kind of talk with nothing to back it up. I guess I can wait.

Teela 3rd? Yes. At this point she’d be heavily demanded and if any other female came next, heads would roll (if they haven’t already). HA!

The examples above is just to stress how predictable the line is. I hope Mattel hasn’t forgotten that some characters at the end were A-listers too. Putting them first this time around mixed with what we know is coming would help. In Mattel’s DCUC line, Wonder Woman came after Supergirl, Batgirl, Catwoman, and Harley Quinn. We still haven’t even gotten Martian Manhunter, and Flash isn’t even out. That’s how I feel about secondary characters like POP. Yeah they were once dolls (over 20 years ago), but to me, they’re like Hawkgirl, Batgirl, Supergirl, and Big Barda. They’re derivative of their male counterparts to be sure, but the Four Horsemen would make them awesome. If people aren’t convinced, there’s one way to find out. Have the Four Horsemen sculpt one that isn’t She-Ra or Catra. Frosta is the easiest sell of the bunch, in my opinion.

Same goes for the guys. I would’ve held off on super popular ones line Man-At-Arms (ducks tomatoes). What about getting Hordak or King Randor out first? Randor’s basically a He-Man body. Same tooling. He’s only been a staction, and people will want Marlena, and they’re both top-tier characters. Fans will support them in order to complete the 8-backs. Same thing with Hordak. Why does he have to wait? Take an 8-back guy and push them back. It’ll mix it up, and create excitement, and eliminate this feeling that we’re getting more of the same again. I already know what Trap Jaw will look like. But how will the Four Horsemen make Scare Glow cool?

I feel that this line is such an uphill battle because everyone has an idea of how the line should be done both creatively and from a business standpoint. I'm excited Mattel finally did something for action figure collectors in the way of a website, but I'm not stoked that each figure comes out one at a time. I like getting a bunch at once :-). As I said above, it’s also long past due that they started Collect & Connect characters. Certain characters, like Perfuma or Hydron or the Faceless One, may not sell well one after the other, but fans have been clamoring for Battle Cat, Panthor, Modulok, and others. Mattel already has it in the DCUC line and it allows them to do action figures of characters that have a much smaller fanbase, like Commander Steel, Vigilante, Etrigan, Ares, Captain Atom, etc. as long as they can build their Giganta or Solomun Grundy C&Cs. Battle Cat and Panthor should’ve already been done. But maybe that’s for year 2. Who knows?

I know Mattel wants to do it, and I know the Four Horsemen can sculpt it. I just want to see it. I love this line, but right now it just feels like I’m watching a re-run… in slow motion. Does anybody else feel like I do? Anyways, thanks for reading.

(I'm waiting for all the FRAT comments, and I apologize in advance about any typos)

WOW.. Interesting insight and read. It was actually a very good read as a matter of fact. However, I on the other hand prefer the way they are being released. The main characters first, to get the build going. Then, add other side characters on, as story fillers. I guess you can compare it to writing a story, or anything that needs built up. You have to have the base first, and in this case its your main characters to get the story going. Yeah, we know who is who and all that jazz. So, what does it matter what order they are released? Well, I guess it really doesnt. But, if ya have small kids, like I do, its kinda hard to tell them who is who, bla bla bla, if some characters came out of order of the original story. However, since they have introduced KG, and his story right away, it would be cool to get some of those new characters. It wouldnt seem out of place to have Hordak this soon, or even He-Ro and King Hiss.

I too, would have preferred to hold some of the more popular characters back. We have a whole bunch of D-list characters and a few A-listers. I think MOTUC might have trouble in 2010 and beyond if they do too many A-listers too soon. They should keep the fans thirsty for more.

However, making all of the A-list vintage characters first makes it easier for Mattel to make the 200X versions in a few years to keep the line afloat with the A-List characters in that era. After all, all the vintage 8-back and 12-backs will be out of the way for a couple of years...

I'll confess I only skimmed over your post, but your thought process makes a lot of sense to me. I also wonder whether Mattel might shift some extra units for characters who never made it into the 200X toyline, for fans who would welcome up-to-date versions of those characters, ideally from the 200X line but who'd look at MOTUC and maybe think it was "better than nothing"...?

I agree that the powerpoint presentation basically made it look as though fans were finally going to get figures of characters they'd only ever dreamed about, such as He-Ro - whereas, at the moment, what folks are getting are Version #3 of standard characters such as Mer-Man, etc. These are awesome - but, it might help generate more excitement if there was some surprise element in there...

However, in the interest of providing balance, I'd say that we (the hardcore He-Fans who post here) are probably a very small minority of the people Mattel are trying to target these babies to, and as such they probably feel that it's best for the opening salvo to be the characters that casual fans will remember best. If you grew up during the '80s but left MOTU behind, only to learn about the new MOTUC toyline now, you'd probably say "Who the hell is He-Ro?!"

Hopefully the line will continue long enough that all fans get the characters they want!

Take care...

Are you fed up with the problems you've been experiencing buying from MattyCollector.com?

Interesting theories, but who's to say that Sorceress and Frosta (Frosta?) would be embraced by everyone and garner the reactions you claim? I'm not saying they wouldn't, but it just seems like maybe you let a little too much of your own bias/personal feelings form your argument.

I think a lot of people would be upset if Teela wasn't first because they think she deserves it just like He-Man deserved to be first overall.

Anyway, I think your original question is worth thinking about. The selections, though I like all of them, don't follow with the same logic that DCUC and other lines do.

On one hand I'm glad to get those figures early in case the line doesn't last (I hate to even type that!), but part of me thinks it would help the line survive to spread them out and throw some variety in.

Interesting theories, but who's to say that Sorceress and Frosta (Frosta?) would be embraced by everyone and garner the reactions you claim? I'm not saying they wouldn't, but it just seems like maybe you let a little too much of your own bias/personal feelings form your argument.

Actually no. To clarify I was making an example. To be blunt, I want Teela 1st, way more than the Sorceress, and Frosta is not one of my favorites at all. Actually, I didn't like her when I was a kid. I'm indifferent to her. I was just making an example because she's so popular in the She-Ra fanbase and she has more warrior traits having offensive powers. She's a POP warrior than blends in a little better with MOTU. We still haven't seen the Four Horsemen make one of them yet. That was my point. It'd just be different.

Plus the line is marketed to collectors not parents. Sorceress wouldn't sell well? She's gotta be top 3 when it come to women in MOTUC. I'd be shocked if Sorceress didn't sell well. I really would.

While I like the idea of mixing it up, and throwing different characters into the mix 100% there is only one problem. How well they would sell on their own. There are just some figures a lot of people would pass on. If those come out first, then the line never gets to Teela like in your example.

The only real way to fix this, and mix it up, is to do BAFs. I'd buy 4 Gwildors just to finish a Tytus if I had to. Or some terrible POP figure to get Megators head. I mean, if they did the BAF, they can mix it up, and throw in characters that are sure not to sell as great. Just look at your DCUC example about obscure characters. Most people get them just to get a leg for Grundy or any other BAF. Otherwise people would easily pass on someone they never heard of, or didn't want.

I know I would jump all over any figure that was made IF the BAF was someone awesome. Like I've said more than once, Tytus, and Megator. I wouldn't even care who the figure is as much as I was one piece closer to the figure I really wanted. It would almost be silly if Mattel didn't at least try doing this after the first 6 or 8 figures are out. If they want the line to sell no matter who is coming, it needs to be done.

LOL, this reminds me of my thread about having new characters because we KNOW who is coming out. There might not be any true character surprises in this line, save when a certain character is coming out.

The thing is that most people want to get all the old characters before any new characters get made.

I really believe that the powerpoint slide shown at comic con was truly misleading. I love this line, don't get me wrong, but still, I honestly thought this was going to be a line dedicated to obscure and fan wanted characters, I suppose it'll take a long time to get it there. Ah well.

at $30 a fig after shipping and only 1 fig a month... mattels gonna throw their guarenteed sellers out there and then cut and run. i expect to get maybe 20 figures before mattel yells 'suckers!' and tells motu and pop fans its over for good. no more relaunches, no more nothin. thanks. dont let the door hit ya. we got barbie and hotwheels and dc figs to worry about

TwinAJ
I completely agree with you. I find the first lineup of figures to be very boring. To have the first waves be the same as the last two incarnates of MOTU is not just predictable but ..... I feel the this line would do way better if it was more diverse. I agree... yawn with starting with He-man and beastman and skeletor. But to start with the whole 8 back 1st is not revolutionary what so ever. I have great worries of this line not making it because of the starting line up.
Most of us have at least 2 versions of each of these figures and I am very hesitant to buy a 3rd version of each when I don't think the line is going to make it to the more obscure characters that either haven't even had a toy yet or never had a 200x version. I love the new style of the line I love my king greyskull and I look forward to he-man and beastman arriving. I just get the feeling they are going to release in the same order the original line and the 200x line was released in. I do want teela but I would way prefer frosta or sorceress before her just to be different. I am not a huge POP fan I never collected them because of the barbie side to the line. I never got into New adventures as a kid. We already got one MYP character so I can't complain about wanting those 1st as much as I want my Faceless One complete with alternate human head.
I just wish the would mix things up more like you are saying. It would have me interested in these characters I was never interested in as a kid.

We are all going to have to spend at least $200 on this line to support it buying the 8back characters in hope we will get the others later down the line. Because the starting line up consist of the usual suspects I really am not excited about the line like I wish I was. Yay another He-man and skeletor and another beastman and another stratos and another merman and another faker and another manatarms..... my toy collection is not lacking in these characters. I do want classics versions of them all but I would have rather waited for some of them so I could get Spikor Modulok Catra and Stonedar. Those would have me excited.

I am going to buy one of each that they release to support the line but I am not even looking that forward to the 1st 6 toys and that is absurd we should have been given a lineup to create a buzz.

Oh well what do we know after all Mattel always knows best with MOTU don't they.

N8
Still waiting for my He-man and beastman to arrive but I don't mind waiting because I already have so many versions of them....

I also had the predictability-thought, but on the other hand I was a little disappointed to get Faker before the 8-back was completed (would have liked to get the first 8 figs according to the 8-back and actually having these 8 characters as new 8-back on the back of the card!). Mix it up after these 8, but keep those for the start...

Also: How about the packaging??? THAT was a surprise!!
I like it, but I also would have preferred a red bursting-rocks look...

But Mer-Man's non-Alcala-head and Zodak's head I found too similar to the original, not new enough, looking good, but not new...

It is a bit predictable, but I expect it to get more interesting for the second part of the year. I think part of the reason they've lead with the figures they did would be that, even if the line ended after six figures you'd have six, solid characters who are well-remembered (thanks to the cartoon) even to the general public.

That way you weren't stuck with He-man, Skeletor, Frosta, Gwildor, Spikor and Extendar. Don't get me wrong, I'd love all of those - but if that's where the line began and ended and I got no Man-At-Arms I'd be sad.

I agree with some of what you're saying. I wish MOTUC wasn't so predictable with the character line-up.

One thing I don't understand is...

What's going to make POP and NA sell any better several months (or years) down the line, when the trend nowadays is lowers sales with each consecutive wave? I don't foresee any advertisement for those characters. What's going to be different?

It is a bit predictable, but I expect it to get more interesting for the second part of the year. I think part of the reason they've lead with the figures they did would be that, even if the line ended after six figures you'd have six, solid characters who are well-remembered (thanks to the cartoon) even to the general public.

That way you weren't stuck with He-man, Skeletor, Frosta, Gwildor, Spikor and Extendar. Don't get me wrong, I'd love all of those - but if that's where the line began and ended and I got no Man-At-Arms I'd be sad.

Thanks, Thunderpunch. I try to make a good point every few months or so amongst my babble.

I will say that if we don't get thrown some curve balls in the second part of 2009 I'll be disappointed too.

I think MOTUC can't be looked at the same as other lines with all this talk of "waves" and declining sales and all that. It's like a "figure of the month" club, sort of. It just doesn't necessarily have to work the same as retail lines in buying patterns or longevity.

I was right there in the room with you..... what a misleading speech we got.

Now I have notthing against this line. Im gunna buy a few, but not all. Why? Cause Im scared of wasting my money. Its simple, with the econemy being so bad, we have to spend our money wisely.

I cant throw hundreds down for a line that MIGHT not get to the point I want it to. Mattel pulled the plug on the commemoritives (I invested ALOT), they pulled the plug on the 200X (I invested a INSANE amount) the stactions were just meh.... so I cant take a chance on a company that doesnt take chances.

We always get the same what, uh, 20 guys and they throw the towel in?

Hell, I'll take a Gwildor or Ninjor before I want a Stratos, Id like a Sorc. before we get Teela. Take chances and you get the $.

Im sure alot of you want Green Goddess or Savage He-Man, and thats cool, but Im sure we need He-Ro, Scareglow, SSSqueze etc before them. Things we never got to see in the 200x line. Or someone deserving like Marzo. King Grayskull was nice but, its just He-Man with a wig.

"We are the tools of our own imagination, constructing temples and cathedrals in which our most outlandish dreams become truth." - Samael

They really do need to shake it up ALOT. They might say we're sticking to safe characters because the line needs to perform well enough to get to the more obscure ones, but I call shenanigans because this line is only being bought BY THE FANS anyways, and I'd like to think I'm not the only fan that wants a surprise thrown in (and I'm not talking about an extra head for Man-At-Arms without a moustache).
Drop a Spikor, an Adora, Slushhead, Eldor, Saurod, Mara... the fans will go nuts and buy 'em up. The way they're going, pretty much following classic cardback release schedule, it's going to be a few more years before we even get to somebody like Clawful
More variety in the future for me please...

It is a bit predictable, but I expect it to get more interesting for the second part of the year. I think part of the reason they've lead with the figures they did would be that, even if the line ended after six figures you'd have six, solid characters who are well-remembered (thanks to the cartoon) even to the general public.

That way you weren't stuck with He-man, Skeletor, Frosta, Gwildor, Spikor and Extendar. Don't get me wrong, I'd love all of those - but if that's where the line began and ended and I got no Man-At-Arms I'd be sad.

I'd be sad to not get Man-At-Arms, but let's be honest. How can Mattel NOT do Man-At-Arms even if the line was floundering? He's arguably one of the cheapest characters to produce in the entire line. He's literally, from the feet up, HE-MAN, with a different head. Only new pieces would be his mace, and snap-on armor. LOL.

I know you were just making an example, but he's such an easy figure to execute. If anything, Mattel is saving so much money from retooling this puppy between him, Faker and He-Man alone, I can't see how this line isn't making stupid amounts of money charging 20 bucks a pop on repaints, and redecos.

Oh, evil.

Originally Posted by Tallstar

I agree with some of what you're saying. I wish MOTUC wasn't so predictable with the character line-up.

One thing I don't understand is...

What's going to make POP and NA sell any better several months (or years) down the line, when the trend nowadays is lowers sales with each consecutive wave? I don't foresee any advertisement for those characters. What's going to be different?

Honestly I think the difference maker will be Collect & Connect Battle Cat, Panthor, Modulok, etc. It's a proven marketing tool that ensure full lineups selling and has yet to be utilized in He-Man. Battle Cat is considered ESSENTIAL. Sure, a figure now and then pegwarms, but DCUC has a system that I think would work for MOTUC if they really wanted to. They need to get this line to retail. They're pulling a Smash Blade right now to me. He-Man and Skeletor are safe so they make them. And they're doing it again. The 8-backs are safe. Too safe. Sorceress by collectors' standards is safe, too. But she's different than their normal release schedule which always shoves her to the back of the line. Why? Change it up.

It's like starting the DC Universe line with Superman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Joker, and Lex Luthor. Sure fans will go, "Where's Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern?" But you get those two done and your heavy hitter are almost depleted. And we're seeing it right now.

Mattel did say we'd be getting at least one character in the first year that we've never had in figure form before, so I think the surprises are coming.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if they surprised us with an Adora or something soon, but I'm very happy with the line up as it is now. The core of MotU for me has always been He-Man, Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Beast-Man, Stratos, Merman, Teela, Evil-Lyn, TrapJaw, Tri-Klops, and Zodak. These are the figures I want first. I want all the rest, too. I'll buy all the rest, and there are still plenty of heavy hitters after those to throw in and space out. I think you have to have these guys at the beginning though.

" the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few "
" or the one "

We're getting the characters we're getting in this order because they're the easiest ones to make by reusing parts.

Remember the, like, entire basis for MOTUC?

I do agree that some A-list characters should be reserved, but the problem there is that the majority of the A-list characters are the early characters, which were the most part-sharing of the line.

As for MAA being next, not necessarily. Toy Guru said the 8-back wouldn't be the first 8 releases, and that was when Faker was an exclusive. So assuming he wasn't considering Faker a "normal" release at the time, we probably won't see Man-At-Arms and Teela one after the other after Mer-Man.

If He-Man through Mer-Man Stratos sales are good, I wouldn't at all be surprised by a somewhat "out of left field" selection for the May figure.

But without strong sales, we will NOT see investment in new bodies and parts for a while.

Just saying that if sales are "good enough," but not great, I'd expect Webstor, Fisto, Tri-Klops, and Moss Man well before Leech, Rokkon, Extendar, and Queen Marlena.

I completely agree. (And I don't think your post was too wordy at all. You got your point across well.) From the early slideshow and press from Mattel, this sounded like a line that would start filling in holes in the overall collection right off the bat. While I understand the reasoning, I am much less inclined to be "excited" about buying my third version of Beast Man as I would be to buy my first Photog or Marzo...

I also worry about sales of the lower tier characters if the A-listers are all exhausted. I think some will just walk away from the line at that point. I hope that I'm wrong, but even here on the .org, many seem to only want the main characters and seem leery about the others...